


Night Terrors

by Acaeria



Series: Sleeplessness [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Multi, Nightmares, Other, Queerplatonic Relationships, lots of cuddles and things idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-05-19
Packaged: 2018-03-31 07:36:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3969523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acaeria/pseuds/Acaeria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All these years have gone by and yet nothing has changed. Mikasa still smells of lavender. Armin's hands are still soft and gentle. Eren's eyes still hold that spark, threatening to become a roaring blaze.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night Terrors

**Author's Note:**

> So, last night I was tossing and turning, when I realised that I'd finally finished the manga and could write a sequel to Insomnia! And this is it, another 1000 word drabble written late at night. Please excuse errors xx

All these years have gone by and yet nothing has changed. Mikasa still smells of lavender. Armin's hands are still soft and gentle. Eren's eyes still hold that spark, threatening to become a roaring blaze.

* * *

 

On the way to the safehouse Armin finds himself falling asleep.

It's been a long day and his mind is still spinning, trying to process what has happened. Eren fell asleep about an hour ago, exhausted from transforming into a titan; around them, the others look just as tired.

The others bar Mikasa, who is sitting tensely, seemingly alert; however, Armin can see the way her eyes are slightly closed, and her shoulders barely slumped, indicating that she's as relaxed as she can be in this situation. She won't be falling asleep anytime soon, though.

She catches Armin's eye and gives him the faintest of encouraging smiles before looking away, over the edge of the cart. Armin's eyes close, only to snap open moments later when a bump in the road rattles his teeth. The movement causes Eren to slide sideways, his head leaning on Armin's shoulder. Armin wriggles slightly in his seat, slumping to become more comfortable before allowing his eyes to close again; without him even meaning to, his head falls to rest atop Eren's.

The position is comfortable; the top of Eren's head is warm and comfortable, and the feeling of his best friend leaning on him causes him to relax.

His eyes open for a moment and he sees a smile on Mikasa's face as she watches them before sleep finally claims him.

* * *

 

Mikasa is stronger than most people. She's brave, focused, deadly- the perfect soldier. But these things don't make her immune to fear. And after all these years, her nights remain the same.

She wakes, lying in her makeshift bed on the floor of the back room in the safehouse. Her breath is coming far too quick and her face is wet with tears. There's an unreleased scream burning in the back of her throat. Her heart is thumping in wild panic.

She sits up, the red scarf falling from between her arms. She looks at it, and struggles to pick it up, looping it back around her neck. She looks at the others in the room: Sasha and Historia, sleeping in the double bed that took up most of the space. They don't stir as she gets to her feet and wanders to the door, slipping outside and closing it quietly behind her.

The boys are sleeping out in the living room, sprawled across couches and on the floor. She sees Armin, curled up in a nest of blankets, and smiles as she stops by him. She hesitates, before lifting her fingers to her lips and placing them on his warm cheek.

He stirred but did not wake, and she continued to move.

It angered her that Eren should still be isolated from them, even now, but Eren hadn't argued and it had been strange of her to argue for him. So she had bit her tongue and allowed it, all the time brimming with anger.

That anger flared up now as she unlocked the basement door and ducked inside, but faded as soon as her feet hit the cold wooden steps. She descended them quietly, peering round the wall and seeing Eren, curled up in a small cot in the corner.

At least he was chained up here.

She darted across the small basement room, climbing into the bed. The temperature of her feet woke Eren- at least, that's what she assumed it was, for he was always complaining about it- and his eyes flicked open, watching her as she shifted around.

He smiled and mouthed a greeting at her, reaching out to encompass her in his arms. She snuggled against his chest, breathing in his scent, enjoying his warmth and closeness. She closed her eyes, and for a moment she was nine years old again.

It felt like nothing had ever changed.

But of course it had, and she was reminded of this in the morning, when she was met with disapproving looks from her commanding officer.

She just glared back.

* * *

 

Eren doesn't like being left behind.

He doesn't like waiting and watching, worried that a mission will go wrong without him there to help. He doesn't like waiting for someone to show up and steal him away from people.

He doesn't like sitting here in the cave, restrained, blindfolded and gagged, with Historia the only human being around.

They don't talk- really, they can't talk- and if they need to communicate, they'll do so with a series of nudges.

The cave is cold and keeps him awake. When he does sleep, it is disturbed with strange and uncomfortable images, dreams that flee as soon as he wakes. His tears wet the cloth wrapped over his eyes and he longs for the comfort of his friends; for Armin's gentle comfort or Mikasa's silent understanding. Instead, he bites his tongue and hopes Historia can't hear him sob.

He doesn't even know why he's crying.

* * *

 

They don't know.

Mikasa doesn't understand how she keeps losing Eren. How he always ends up so far away from them, and how she's never there to help him. She feels lost without him, almost. She doesn't care that this isn't healthy, to be so devoted to one person that you're not even a person when they leave. She needs him, and he needs her, and that's how it's been for years.

Armin doesn't know what he can do. Eren is too far away; they've lost him, he's beyond their help now. He doesn't know where to find him or the best course of action to make. The only thing he knows is that Eren is gone.

Well, maybe not the only thing

He knows Mikasa is here and she feels.just as lost as he does. He knows that she's scared and she's angry, and that her nightmares are worse than ever. She knows that she finds comfort in him now that Eren's gone, climbing in beside him after the terror overwhelms her and becomes too much.

Mikasa is scared of a lot of things, but none more so than the monsters that hide in the dark and steal her family away from her every time she finds it. So every night she holds onto Armin and swears they won't take him too.

She thinks she can hear them laughing at that.

* * *

 

They're finally back together but things are different now. They're not the same people they were before.

Mikasa smells less like flowers and more like the dirt they grow in. Armin's hands shake and are rougher, gripping things like iron for he is far too scared to let go. And the fire in Eren's eyes has become a dull flicker, and is sometimes hard to find if you don't know what you're looking for.

But that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because they're together again and they're not so scared anymore. They sit together on the way back, rattling around in the back of the cart. It's reminiscent of their days back on the streets, the way they lie with their limbs crossing, hands and feet and hair all over the place.

Everything's changed since then but it doesn't have to be a bad thing. The closeness they have now is something new and something wonderful; something that can maybe chase away the night terrors and set them free.

Or at least, they hope so.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm considering writing a full-length fic for this series, with an actual story, but it would diverge from canon and I'm not sure if I could do that yet? Let me know if you'd like to see one?


End file.
